Aug 25, 2023

University of Florida IFAS Extension offers online greenhouse training

The University of Florida IFAS Extension offers an online educational opportunity where growers can improve the prevention and management of disease in nurseries and greenhouses by registering for an award-winning Greenhouse Online Training program, Disease Management.

This course is intermediate level and designed for people with some experience or entry university level, who are in production, technical, or sales role for greenhouse and nursery crops. The course is offered in both English and Spanish. Over 480 growers have successfully taken this course and is rated 4.2 out of 5 by grower participants with over 80% graduation rate in 2022.

Lesson topics

1. Introduction and basic disease cycle concepts for targeted management.
2. Signs and symptoms of plant disease.
3. Viral disease detection, diagnosis, and management.
4. Bacterial disease detection, diagnosis, and management.
5. Fungal disease detection, diagnosis, and management.
6. Fungicides.
7. Nozzles: calculations, minimizing drift.
8. Resources, major disease cycle concepts, and developing a targeted management plan.

Dr. Carrie Harmon, Director of the UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center in Gainesville, FL and Co-Director of the National Plant Diagnostic Network, teaches the course. Growers have described the training as “detailed but digestible, with an emphasis on practical, field-applicable knowledge”, and that the course material “is very dynamic, which makes it easy to understand and apply to our day-to-day work in the greenhouse,” according to Dr. Harmon.

Details

The course runs from Sep. 11-Oct. 6, 2023. The cost is $265 per participant, with a 20% discount if you register five or more. All course material is online and available at any time of the day and includes pre-recorded videos, an interactive discussion board with PhD professors and quizzes. Two new modules are activated each week during the course, for a total of 8 learning modules. Instruction is at your own pace and time within the 4 weeks of the course, with a typical time commitment of about 6 hours per week. You can register online here.

Disease Management is one of six courses that counts towards the Plant Health Professional certificate offered by University of Florida UF IFAS Extension (UF Greenhouse Training Online) and the Michigan State University Floriculture Program Extension (MSU Online College of Knowledge) to help greenhouse clientele grow their career in plant health management.

For more information, visit hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training, or contact Greenhouse Training, Environmental Horticulture, University of Florida, USA, Email: greenhousetraining@ifas.ufl.edu.